iProm
by seddie4thewin
Summary: Freddie calls Sam and asks her to come back to Seattle for his senior prom. Will she? Won't she? What angst will happen along the way? Will she ever talk to him again?
1. Chapter 1

**Since it's spring formal season, I thought it was time to work on something iCarly related about Seddie and the prom.**

 **Just a little setup: this is set post iGoodbye, but before TKTJ in Sam & Cat, which will be obvious in reading the dialogue. We're going to dig into some feelings about the events of the last episode, too. Maybe not canon, but it makes me feel better about the whole thing. **

Freddie had been putting off this call all week. As bad as he wanted to talk to her, he was just too nervous to call Sam up and talk. It was now early April. He was a senior and prom season was just around the corner. He found out a couple of months ago that the only girl who he ever wanted to take is living in Los Angeles. Apparently, she's doing online school for senior year and babysitting.

At least that's what she told him when she called and asked for his help in tracking some fictional bad reviews of her business.

It was now Friday evening. He was trying to talk himself out of calling, rationalizing that Sam was probably out on a date or possibly busy with work. Twice he had pulled her number up on his ridiculously gigantic pear phone and been unable to work up the courage to press the call button.

He sighed, laying back on his bed, staring at the ceiling, with the phone lying on his chest. "Why does this have to be so freakin' hard? And I really need to get a normal sized smart phone."

One last time, he scrolled to her name and before he could talk himself out of it, he pressed the green button on the screen. One ring, two rings, maybe the fates would be kind and he would only get her voice mail. 3 rings, 4 rings, so far so good.

"Yo, Freducchini." Sam answered. "It's been a while."

"Um, hey, Sam." He stammered. "What's up?"

"Not much. Just watching a couple of kids." Sam sat on the sofa as three little kids chased Cat around the apartment. "Cat! Can you guys keep it down? I'm on the phone."

"But, Sam!" Cat replied, as one of the kids sprayed her with water from a super soaker. "Help. Oh, God! Mascara, eyes, it burns!"

"Hey, I'm going to step outside to talk. You OK here?"

"No, Sam, don't. I can't see! Help me!" Cat tried to beg for help as Sam stepped out their front door and took a seat on the nearest planter.

"So what are you up to?" She asked. "I hear you and Gibby both got into U-Dub."

"Yep, and Caltech. I'm coming down to tour the campus as soon as school's out, how about we try to get together?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Sam reluctantly agreed. Not that she didn't want to see him. She did, but she was still full of confused feelings. On one hand, she missed him like crazy, but one the other, she just wasn't ready to open herself up and be alone with him and risk being hurt.

"So, I'm guessing you talked to Gibby." He hoped his buddy had told Sam how much he missed her and talked about her constantly.

"Yeah, he calls once in a while, the gigantic nub. Did you know him and Nevel have actually become friends?"

"Yeah. Nevel's still, well he's still a pain in the butt, but, um that's not really why I called."

"So what's on your mind, nubbo?" She teased.

"I, uh, well you know, prom is coming up and I was just thinking. I was kind of wondering if you'd . . ."

"No!"

"I didn't even ask you yet. How did you even know what I was going to say?"

"You were going to invite me to be your date to some chizzy dance. And I said no." Sam said flatly.

"But why?"

"Well, for starters, I live two states and a four hundred and eighty nine dollar flight away. Isn't there some girl in our class that you can ask? I hear Wendy's single and Jaqueline and that new girl Cami, but Wendy says she's a little weird. Sounds like your type. Surely one of them is desperate enough for a date to go with you." She tried to taunt him.

"Very funny, Puckett. See, thing is, Wendy kind of hinted but I don't want to go with any of them, Sam. I want to go with you. I - I miss you, and It'd really mean a lot to me to be able to take you to our prom."

She sighed. "Sorry, but I'm not coming back to Seattle any time soon."

"I'd come to L.A. for you. If you got run over by a sports utility vehicle or something, I'd be there in a heartbeat. I mean, I would drop everything and hop the first plane south."

"Look, Fredbag, I just need some space. I'm not saying I never want to see your face again, I'll even hang out with you for a bit when you come to Caltech." She drew a deep breath before telling him the truth. "Thing is, you're the reason I left Seattle to start with. I'm sure as heck not coming back just to go out with you. Especially to something as dumb as prom."

Freddie was confused. "Wait, what do you mean, I'm the reason you left?"

"Because you're still hung up on her, Freddie. And I don't know if you'll ever not be. Because I'm tired of being your participation prize and I'm not going out with someone who doesn't really want me as bad as . . . "

"Sam, no!" He begged. "I swear I'm not hung up."

Sam had herself convinced that this was a fact and thought he was lying to her. "Then tell me why, just hours after you asked me to get back together, you were in the studio swapping spit with Carly." She snapped at him. "Don't try to deny it. I saw you guys. Just like I saw you dancing at the Groovy Smoothie that time after the speed dating mess. Face it Freddie, the only time Sam's good enough is if Carly's not around."

Her statement broke his heart. "Aw, Sam, that's not true."

"I've been right in front of you for years, Freddie and you were so hung up on Carly, I might was well have been invisible. I know I'm some disgusting piece of white trash. I'm so nasty, I couldn't even get a date with Gibby for chiz sake. But the point is, as long as you still have feelings for someone else, I don't want to go out with you. Not as any thing more than just hanging out with a friend. And I'm sure as h, e, double el, not blowing all my savings flying back to Seattle just to go to some goofy dance with you."

"Sam, please."

"Look, Fredward. I said no and I mean it. Prom is a big deal to nubs like you. You've been talking about it for years. You should go with someone who's as caught up with the whole dumb high school experience as you. Not someone like me who could give a rat's butt about any of it. This is something you want to look back on ten years from now and be happy with."

"I'd be happiest with you." He said quietly.

Sam continued to get more upset at his insistence. "You'll get over it. Ask someone else. Who knows, if you ask the right girl you might even get some boob before the night's over. But I'm not going to be your date just by default. Now, if you want to hang out and do something as friends when you come to L.A., give me a call and we can try to get together. Deal?"

"OK, Sam." He agreed, sensing her getting more hostile. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. For everything. I never would have done anything to hurt you. I never will." Sam could hear a crack in his voice as he spoke and it broke her heart, thinking she hurt him.

"Uh, I gotta go. Just call me when you're in town, Fredweirdo. We'll hang, alright?" Sam quickly ended the call and wiped a tear away from her eye. This was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. At least when she left Seattle, she didn't have to confront anyone. All she did was leave a note and a make a few texts and head out on her motorcycle.

She returned to the apartment to find the kids finally settled down, eating ice cream at the table as Cat looked frazzled, makeup running down her face and hair going wild.

"What's wrong, Sam?" The red head asked.

Sam flopped on the sofa. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"It's not nothing. You look like you've been crying." Cat fussed, coming over and sitting down beside her.

"It was just one tear and it's no big deal. You're the one who looks like a rabid raccoon. I was just asked to prom and I said no."

"But why?" Cat gasped. "I'd give anything to go to prom. Wait, who asked you? OMG, it wasn't Robbie was it. I swear, I'll give that boy a piece of my mind."

Sam sighed. "No, it wasn't Robbie. Guh-ross! And you can't afford to give away what little you have."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a sophomore, Cat. You'll go next year." Sam reasoned. "I can't go running back home just for some dumb ol' dance. And I'm sure as heck not going back to go with Freddie."

"Freddie? You mean Freddie as in Benson? Adorable, cute, smart, Freddie Benson from the show? But I thought you still had feelings for him. You don't talk about him much but when you do, you get this glow. I can tell Sam, he's someone special to you."

"You're nuts!" Sam huffed and flipped on the TV. "And can we please quit talking about this."

"Hey, I might be a lot of things and I know I'm not the sharpest girl in the drawer, but I can tell when someone likes someone and you like Freddie!"

"I'm going to bed!" Sam got up and left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, thanks everyone for reviewing and following the story. Freddie's going to get his eyes opened in this installment and some counsel from an older and maybe wiser man. Hope you all enjoy.**

Chapter 2

The day after his discussion with Sam, Freddie went across the hallway to talk to Spencer. The two had become pretty close, even without the artist's little sister around and the older man was definitely the closest thing to a male role model in Freddie's life.

"Spence. It's Freddie." He said as he knocked at the door.

"C'mon in, Freddo." Spencer replied, his hands coated with plaster, working on some project in the middle of his living room. "What's up?"

"Hey, nice, um, thing."

"It's a scrambled egg. It's for the lobby of that new restaurant down town that serves over a hundred different kinds of eggs."

Freddie took a seat on the nearest chair and sighed. "I need to ask you something, Spence."

"As long as it's not about girls. I had the worst date last night."

"Well, sorta." Freddie replied quietly.

"Oh, God. Are you sure I'm the guy you should be talking to. Maybe Gibby . . . "

Freddie cut him off. "No, this isn't a Gibby thing. I have to tell you something in order to ask you the question. But I need you to promise me you won't get all freaked out. It's about your sister."

"Yeah, alright." Spencer began to sound concerned.

"Well, it's not exactly about her. See, I actually kinda think I still like Sam. But she's super wazzed off because of something that happened with me and Carly."

"OK. What happened?" Spencer began to think the worst as he wiped off his hands. "You guys didn't do 'things' did you? You both seemed weird the day she left. Don't tell me you guys . . . "

"Things? What are talking about? You mean? Oh, God, NO! I wouldn't, aw geez, no. B - But the day she left, Carly kissed me. An - and I kissed back, like a fool. And I guess Sam saw us, so for months she's been thinking I've still got a thing for Carls and she doesn't want to go to prom with me." Freddie jumped up and began to pace around.

"You kissed Carly? Man, where was I when this was going on? And what about prom?"

"Yeah, I told you I still like her and I want to give it another shot with her, but Sam's just absolutely refusing to go to the dance with me."

"Well, duh! She lives, like, a thousand miles away. Literally."

"That's not the only reason. She told me that I'm the reason she left. Because she saw me and Carly kissing and she thinks I'm still hung up on her."

"Freddo. Sit down." Spencer motioned to the couch, where the two fellows took a seat. "Do you remember how when you guys were younger and you were always so infatuated with Carly that you constantly asked her out and told everyone you were going to marry her some day?"

"Well, yeah. I was pretty pathetic back then."

"Right. And back then, do you remember how Sam treated you?"

"Uh-huh. Like crap."

"And did you ever stop to wonder why she acted like that?"

Freddie had no idea. "I don't know, because she thought I was annoying and I was some gigantic dweeb. She was always telling me that Carly would never love a dork like me and stuff just to break me down. And it really hurt, well it did up until I outgrew my crush on Carly and started liking her instead."

"Freddie, she . . ."

The younger male kept talking right over him. "And then somehow me and Sam ended up going out and then we broke up but the thing is, us breaking up was just stupid because I still like her. And I think she still likes me. I knew as soon as we started going out that if we ever broke up it would make things weird and it sure did."

"Do you know what I saw after you and Sam split up? You started looking at Carly as possibly more than a friend again and it really hurt Sam because she still had feelings for you.."

"It did? Bu-but we weren't together. What did she care? If she didn't want to break up then why didn't she say something?"

"Oh, she cared, Freddie. And you know she wasn't going to say anything and act all weak and girly. I want to tell you about something I probably shouldn't. Do you remember that time you guys lined up that speed dating challenge and Carly was supposed to go pick some random dude to take to the girls choice dance?"

"Psh, yeah. What a disaster that was for her. And that weird magician girl I agreed to go with turned out to be some kind of freak."

"But at the end of the evening, you and Carly sent both of them packing and ended up dancing at the Groovy Smoothie together?"

"Yeah, we did. But it wasn't anything romantic. How'd you know about it anyway? Did T-Bo tell you?"

"No. Sam did." Spencer shook his head. "She saw you guys dancing and it broke her heart. She came back here, crying her eyes out and she needed someone to talk to, so I listened. She told me that she was looking for you to tell you that she wanted to go out with you again. And that she saw you two dancing and she knew she had lost you forever because you were back in lust with Carly again. That was the day that truly broke Sam. I had never seen her like that. She wasn't Sam, she was like some scared, little china doll shattered into a million pieces."

"But Carly and I just danced because we both had lousy dates and wanted to have one dance with someone we didn't want to kill. Sure it was a little intimate, and it was cool we were able to share that, but it wasn't like a date or anything. Actually that's one of the first times I came to realize Carly and I were not meant to be more than as much fun as the dance was, I kept thinking about Sam."

"Well, Sam didn't know that, man. She was ready to bolt right then and there. It took me hours to convince her not to just up and leave town. Run off and never look back. She felt betrayed. She was hurt because Carly knew how much she liked you. And neither you or Carly realized how much you hurt Sam that night, so neither of you could do anything to help. And she swore me to secrecy. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone about her breaking down and she promised she wouldn't run off."

"And that's the time you picked to start being able to keep secrets?"

"Getting off point, here."

"Right. But do you really think she was serious about running away? Surely she knew I wasn't interested in Carly. I mean, there was the whole Canadian Fat Cakes thing and then there was the trip to Vegas. We even talked about getting back together. In fact, we even talked about it the day . . . the day . . . the day, holy crabs! We talked about it the day Carly was leaving. In fact, I asked her about getting back together not long before . . . before the kiss."

Spencer raised an eyebrow.

"It wasn't like I planned on kissing Carly for cheese sake!"

"Ya still did it!"

"It was supposed to be a fresh start for me and Sam both. Because I knew she was going to need someone to lean on. Our lives were going to be turned completely upside down." Freddie now panicked. "But she saw me kissing another girl and now she thinks I was just stringing her along."

"It wasn't just any girl, you kissed her best friend. Sam is sensitive, man. Sure, she'd a total bad-ass and acts all tough and emotionless, but she's fragile deep down inside. You know what her biggest issue is? She feels like she's always someone's sidekick, second best, on the B-team, the silver medal. Do you get it?"

Freddie just looked confused.

"All the time she was little, it was her sister who stole her limelight. Melanie had better grades, more popular friends, she got all their mom's attention. Then, practically as soon as she moved away, Sam met Carly and you know she's always got to be the center of attention."

"I never noticed." Freddie smirked, the part about Sam's sister never registering.

"I mean, I love my sister to death, and maybe this is partially my fault for raising her like this, but she's a little bit self centered. Around Carly, Sam never had a chance to shine. Except when she was with you. You broke through Sam's tough shell, let her flowers grow, let her be herself."

"I guess that's true." Freddie agreed. "Sam broke me out of my shell, too."

Spencer continued. "All the popular guys asked Carly out, all the teachers loved her, everyone ignored Sam. But you were the only exception. You saw Sam for what she really is, a beautiful, smart, funny and loving person and when she thought you betrayed how she opened herself up to you, it was worse than any beating she could ever take."

"And I guess I didn't help matters any by always putting Carly first."

"No, not really. I think you can see the problem here. Sam thinks she was your fallback plan. Holy heck, she probably even brooded over this long enough to convince herself that the only reason you wanted to get back together in the first place was because Carly was leaving the country."

"That wasn't it, I swear. I still had, I mean I still have feelings for Sam. She's the only girl I've ever truly loved. I wanted to get back together with her since the day we broke up."

"And if you felt that way, why was it, every time you had the chance, you always sided with Carly. I was seeing it from the sidelines, and I could tell it cut poor Sam deeper each time. Please realize I'm saying this out of brotherly love for you, but you treated that girl like dirt, man. The only option for her was to grow a tougher skin, build a higher wall, push you back to keep from getting hurt worse. And just when she was ready to let her guard down and be vulnerable again. . ."

"I go and kiss Carly and she left town to get away from me."

"Kinda looks that way. It was only hours after Carly left that Sam sent me a text. She told me she was going on a road trip. I had no idea she was leaving forever. Or why. Until now. I guess she saw it, decided to bolt and that was that."

"My God, Spence. I have to do something. I have to make this right. But how?"

"I don't know if you can, Freddie. But if there's any chance at all, the best start would be to treat her like a friend. How many times have you talked to her since she left?"

"I don't know, two or three."

"Well, maybe that's a good place to begin."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to all who are enjoying the story. I'm so glad it's getting such a following. This one starts off by checking in on Sam, but quickly switches up to be more Freddie-centric again. Don't worry, next installment we'll spend more time with Sam.**

Chapter 3

As much as Sam tried to put Freddie and their last conversation out of her mind, she couldn't. She spent the next couple of nights barely sleeping, running the whole scenario over and over again in her mind. What's worse, she barely ate and became crabbier by the day.

By the next weekend, she was getting so bad that Cat began to worry. Without her friend's knowledge, the younger girl put in a call to Sam's sister. While the blonde was sulking in the bedroom, Cat snuck out to the patio to make a call where she wouldn't be overheard.

"Hey, Cat." Melanie answered cheerfully. "It's been a while. How are you doing?"

"Hey, Melanie!" Cat squeaked. "I'm good, but I'm worried about your sister."

"Oh no. What's wrong? Did she get arrested for something. She was doing so good since she moved to L.A., what happened?"

"Nothing like that. Um, she's all depressed because Freddie called her and asked her to his senior prom."

"And she's depressed about that?" Mel questioned. "I'd be over the moon. Heck, I'd fly back to Washington from New York if he asked me to the dance. What's wrong, can't she afford to fly back to Seattle or something. I can lend her some money."

"No, she turned him down and I guess they must have had some kind of fight or something because ever since then she's been just sitting around, hardly sleeping, not eating. I don't think she's even had a shower in, like, four or five days."

"Gross!" Mel sneered. "But she's really not eating? Man, this is bad! I don't think I ever saw Sam not eat. Even when our dad left."

"I just don't understand it, ever since I met her, when she mentions Freddie, well except the past week, she lights up. It's like she's totally and hopelessly in love with him and she's too proud to admit it."

"Well, have you asked her whether they had a fight or something?"

"I've tried. Believe me I tried. At first, she just brushed me off, but then she got all nasty and told me to butt out and mind my own g. d. business. Sam never talked to me like that and it really hurts. And I don't like to hear her cursing like that."

"Hmm, maybe you should call Freddie and talk to him. You know, get his side of it. If they had a bad fight maybe he needs to call and apologize. Because Lord knows, she never will."

"I would if I had his number. And Sam practically sleeps with her phone in her armpit, so I can't even get a look at her contact list. I swear she even takes the thing into the shower with her. She's either afraid I'll read her texts or she's expecting a really important call."

"Maybe both." Mel said as she contemplated. "I suppose I could call him. I have his number somewhere, I went out with him once years ago, but he was so convinced I was Sam trying to prank him, he wasn't much fun. But I'll say this, he's a heckuva kisser."

"Well don't just sit there and talk about it, woman! Call that boy. We have to get to the bottom of this mess so we can help Sam."

Melanie hung up with Cat and took a little while to consider what she'd like to discuss with Freddie. She searched through her contact list, found his number and dialed him.

As the phone rang, Mel remembered how much she liked Freddie, how attractive she found him and also how jealous and short Sam acted with her after she went out with him that one time years ago. That was long before Sam and Freddie even dated, though they had shared their first kiss, but Sam still acted like Freddie was her property and Melanie was committing a crime by even agreeing to go on a date with him. It was a good thing Sam didn't know she kissed the boy or she'd have surely went off the rails.

Because of how her sister felt about Freddie, Melanie never even attempted to make contact with him again, despite how much she wanted to.

"Hello?" Freddie answered, not recognizing the number. "Who is this?"

"Hey, Freddie! It's Melanie, Sam's sister."

"Oh, hey, Sam. What's new?" He certainly didn't act like he was mad at Sam or anything. And while he was very disappointed that Sam had turn down his prom proposal, he wasn't truly mad at her. Honestly, after talking to Spencer, he was more mad at himself and had been trying to think of a way to be a better friend to her.

What he couldn't figure out was why she was calling him and using the 'Melanie' persona. Freddie was positive there was no Melanie. After all, Sam had even admitted to making up the whole twin sister thing years ago. She obviously used this alter ego as a way to get him to go out with her and even sneak in a second kiss without admitting it was her to begin with.

"No, Freddie. It's Melanie. Mel - an - ie! But I was actually calling to see if you've talked to Sam lately."

He still was convinced this was Sam. "Yeah, but you kind of gave me the brush off, I hope you aren't still upset. Look, Sam, I know you're wazzed and all, but I'm truly sorry. Sorry for everything. I just don't want you mad at me."

By now, he was thinking that making the call as 'Melanie', might be Sam's way of calling to talk to him without making herself seem weak. That's why he figured she made up the Melanie character in the first place, to go out with him, without doing so as tough Sam Puckett, hater of nubs and geeks.

"Well, you may have talked to my sister, but I haven't heard your voice in years. I understand Sam's been a little depressed lately and before I talk to her I thought I'd check and see if you guys had an argument or something that would have set her off. I know you guys had a break up and all, but you're still friends, right?

The act was starting wear on his nerves, all he wanted to do was talk and be her friend not get into a psychoanalyzing contest. "I wouldn't call it an argument, Sam! Basically you told me you didn't want to go to prom with me and I respect that. After all, you live a thousand miles away. What hurt was when you said that I needed to grow up and get over Carly. You should remember the conversation better than I do, you did most of the talking."

He was getting worried for her mental stability, hoping that somehow she hadn't slipped into being bi-polar or anything serious.

"Wait, what? Grow up and get over Carly? But, Carly told me months ago that you guys agreed that you were friends and that's it. She even told me about the kiss and how it was wrong and she wished she had never done it because it could have ended up really hurting Sam."

"Well, obviously it did hurt you." He quipped. "Look, Sam. I get it. You feel like you've always been in someone's shadow and believe me, I feel like the world's biggest jackhole for kissing Carly that day and if I could go back in time and un-do it, I would; but I'm dead serious, I am totally over her. I've never felt for Carly like I feel for you. When we dated it was magical, your kisses are like fire on my lips, your touch makes me see sparks. Kissing Carly was nice, but after I thought about it, it was something that should have never happened."

"Well, why haven't you told Sam all this?" Mel snapped. "Half the problem is you tried to hide this from her and act like it wasn't a big deal. Maybe it isn't to you, but it sure as heck is to her. Sam's all hard on the outside, but you need to be honest with her if you're ever going to get through that wall of hers."

Melanie continued. "I get having Mom make a big deal out of everything I did all the time wasn't the best thing, either. But it's not like Mom and I were all that close, she shipped me off to a boarding school when I was eleven so she'd only have one kid to deal with. If Sam's grades had been better, she'd have done the same for her. Heck, it's a wonder she didn't send her to military school or a convent or something."

Freddie sighed. "I realize you've had some issues in life. Carly being the alpha female, and me acting like the sun rose and set over her didn't help matters. But you've got to believe me, I would never do anything to hurt you, Sam. From that first kiss on the fire escape, to our date at the dance club, to the mental hospital, and the lock-in, dating you, the whole nine yards, you were and are my everything, Sam."

Melanie was silent and Freddie thought he could almost hear her sniff back a tear.

"So do you forgive me? I can't stand the idea that you think I'm sitting around and pining away for Carly. I told you I wanted to get back together with you because I really do love you and I knew we'd both need someone to lean on. It wasn't because there was no other option. It wasn't because I was desperate for a girlfriend or lonely all of a sudden. I wanted to get back together because I love you and I miss you and breaking up was the dumbest thing I've ever done. I can't stand the idea that you think I would ever think of you as my second choice."

Melanie was so touched, she was seeing stars and hearts. "Aaa-wwww, that is soooo sweet. And my sister is a fool if she doesn't forgive you if you tell her what you just told me. In fact, if she doesn't soon get her head out of her butt, I might just have to come back and go out with you myself."

"What? Sam?"

"You need to call her, tell her all that and yeah, she'll probably make fun of you and call you a sappy nub. And it might take her a while, but eventually she'll come to her senses. But in the meantime you need to let her know you're her friend and you'll always be there for her."

He was still convinced this was Sam he was speaking to. After they hung up, he still kept thinking to himself. 'Isn't that what I just did? I don't know whether to be mad at her or worried for her sanity. Maybe a few days at Troubled Waters and talking to somebody with a lot of letters behind their name could help her feel better."


	4. Chapter 4

**This is going to be a long chapter. We'll check in on Sam and see if anyone can help her see the light.**

Sam was having a very difficult time and Cat was pushing her harder to find out why.

"Sam, what's wrong." The younger girl begged in the morning, worried because Sam was up so early.

"Ugh! Cat, I'm fine. Now get your butt ready for school." Sam growled, just wanting to be alone. "You're gonna be late."

"I'm not going anywhere, Sam." Cat defied. "I'm really worried about you. You don't sleep, you don't care about work. You don't eat. My God, Sam, you're not eating!"

All Sam wanted was to wallow in her own misery. "There is nothing wrong with me. Now would you please just go to school."

"Sam. Please tell me what happened with Freddie? You haven't been the same since you talked to him."

"I already told you."

"Yeah, he asked you to prom. So why does that make a girl go off the deep end."

Sam snapped at her friend. "Because he doesn't really want to take me. He wants to take his precious little Carly and since California is a helluva lot closer than Italy, he asked me. He doesn't really give a crap about me, I'm just more convenient."

"Oh, Sam. That can't be true!"

Sam didn't believe her and continued. "And no matter how much he insists that he's over Carly, I know he's not. And he's never going to feel about me like I feel about him."

"How can you be so sure?" The younger gal fussed.

"Because that's how it always is. Sam is the second choice, the backup plan, the black sheep. Everyone I know comes first, Melanie, Carly, even you. We go somewhere and people look at the two of us and they see perfect, sweet little Cat Valentine and the gutter trash girl that lives with her. That's the way it's always been, I'm the wingman, the second banana, the trouble making sidekick."

Cat was so worried about her friend's attitude that she absolutely refused to leave her alone for the day. The poor girl spent the day trying to do things to help Sam's attitude to no avail.

By the end of the day, Cat had enlisted the help of some friends to keep Sam company so she could handle her homework and do some shopping for dinner. At her request, Dice stopped by for a little while. The red head had taken a few minutes to catch him up on the situation before leaving.

"Hey, Sam." The younger boy entered the apartment cautiously. "What's new?"

"Eh. Same old chiz." She shrugged from the couch, no even sitting up.

"So Cat tells me you're felling a little down. Maybe I could cheer you up with some magic tricks." The kid produced a deck of cards. "Here, pick a card."

Rather than take just one, Sam sat up and grabbed the whole deck. "Let me show you my favorite card trick." She tossed the deck into the air and swatted it, cards fluttered everywhere. "Whee."

Poor Dice didn't know what to do. He just sat down beside her. "I'm sorry, Sam. Is there anything I can do?"

Sam just looked at him and shook her head. "Thanks, Kid. But, really I'm fine."

"How about we grab some fried chicken?" He suggested. "My treat."

"Does it mean I have to leave the apartment?"

"Well, yeah. I, uh, guess."

"Then I'm good. Thanks anyway."

"You know, some of the girls in my class say I'm a good listener."

"I know you mean well, Dice but you can't fix me." She deadpanned. "Unless you can somehow stop me from falling for a guy that's in love with someone else."

Somehow Sam felt more comfortable talking to this kid than anyone else.

"Are you talking about Freddie? You know he's crazy about you, right?"

"How the cheese would you know? You've never met the guy." Sam jumped up and walked toward the kitchen.

Dice followed. "I watched the show. I could see it in the way he looked at you. I mean, he wasn't on camera all the time like you, but when he was there was this vibe between you two. And Cat told me he even asked you to the spring formal."

"Yeah, well Cat needs to mind her own business and Fredweird can ask me to anything he wants, it doesn't stop the fact that he's still in lust with Carly Shay."

"You know, if I was older, I'd ask you to a dance or something to make him jealous. Then you'd see just how he feels about you. Like I said, I saw how he looked at you, and how he looked at Carly and believe me there was a difference."

"Well, I think I know him a lot better than either you or Cat do. But it is nice of you to offer to take me out to make him jealous. Even if you're just desperately trying to get a chance to go out with a girl five years older than you."

"No. I swear I'm not." He got wide eyed. "I wouldn't."

"Yeah, you are. But that's OK. I used to have a crush on my best friend's older brother years ago. It's just a phase. You'll get over it, I did." She replied. "Here. I don't do this for everyone. Free hug." She opened her arms to hug the kid.

"Well, I hope you feel better, Sam." Dice said quietly.

"Thanks, Dice. You're a good kid. Hey, hands above the waist!"

* * *

The next day, Sam decided to talk to Carly. She had been thinking about calling her for days, but couldn't be bothered until now. Maybe somehow she could bring up the subject of Freddie and get Carly's take on the situation. It wasn't like she ever thought Carly reciprocated the boy's feelings, but just maybe she could put a different perspective on this.

Carly was just glad to hear from Sam and had been given a little bit of information about the blonde's conundrum by Melanie and she felt terrible. She also heard some of Freddie's side thanks to her brother.

"Sam! It's great to hear from you, how have you been?" Carly, as always, sounded way too perky for Sam's liking.

"Not bad." Sam answered shortly.

The girls talked about a few other things but they could only walk around the elephant in the room so often.

"So, I understand you got an invite to prom." Carly brought it up first.

"Psh." Sam snipped. "I guess everyone knows my business. And I suppose you also know I said no."

"Well, L.A.'s not exactly close to Seattle, it can't be practical to make the trip home just for one evening. Plus the airfare's got to be kind of expensive." Carly was hesitant to admit she knew the rest of Sam's reasoning for rejecting the promposal.

"That's not really the problem." Sam mumbled. "I could afford to go back for it if I wanted."

"Well, I understand if you don't want to get anything started with Freddie again. Don't get me wrong, I think you two are good together, but long distance relationships are hard."

"Carly, have you been watching sappy, angsty movies again?"

"Awh, Sam. We both know, Freddie will throw himself head long into a relationship with you, even if he lives in another state. Maybe if he was closer when he 's at college . . . "

"That's crazy. And you and I both know he's not going to choose a college in California. Nerds like him belong at MIT. Heck, he's talked about going there since, like, seventh grade."

"Maybe. But he's also talked about Caltech and UCLA and a half dozen other schools." Carly countered.

Sam was getting irritated. "Even so, don't think he feels about me the way I feel about him."

"And how exactly do you feel?" Carly already knew the answer. "You never talk about that kind of stuff. Tell me what you're thinking, Sam."

Sam sighed, took a deep breath and laid her cards on the table. "That I really like him and I can't so much as talk to another dude without comparing him to Fredward. And that no matter how much I wish it was different, I'll never be anything more than the girl who he settled for when he couldn't get the one he really wanted. I deserve better than being the one who only said yes because she couldn't help herself, even when it's obvious he's hung up on someone else."

"Sam, that's not true and you know it." Carly said in a way like she didn't even remember the kiss. Sam remembered it and it ate at her like nobody's business. The fact that Carly wouldn't cop to it only made her more angry.

"Oh, yeah. Then explain to me why less than three hours after asking me if I wanted to get back together, he went and made out with someone else. And why he never calls me, and why he acts like I owe him a prom date just because we used to go out when we were younger."

"Wait, Freddie asked you out again? And then he made out with some skunk bag? You sure we're talking about Freddie Benson here?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about, Shay! I'm talking about you! He asked me out and then before the sun went down, he was kissing all over you up in the studio. I saw you guys! I saw how tenderly you touched him and how he melted his lips to yours and how victorious he looked. Why are you so defensive of him? Oh my God, did you guys end up in bed or something?"

"Sam, for crissakes, you know me better than that! There wasn't so much as any making out. It was a simple goodbye kiss. Nothing more."

"Psh!" Sam obviously didn't believe her.

Carly was not getting defensive. "Did it appear tender? Maybe, from a distance. Did we both enjoy it at the time? Yeah, I'd say we probably did. But we both felt terrible afterward. I knew kissing a guy that you liked was wrong but I just wanted to . . . , ah heck, Sam. I don't know what I was even thinking, but it certainly wasn't that I had any kind of feelings for Freddie. And I know for a fact that he doesn't have any deep feelings for me. He regrets the kiss just as much as I do."

"And would you mind explaining just how you know what he's thinking."

"Because he told me!" Carly said loudly. "Before my plane even landed, he had been calling and leaving messages apologizing and he sent me, I don't know, like, ten texts saying he felt like he was taking advantage by kissing me, when he was really in love with you. And I never felt anything at all for him, I swear. I never have and I never will."

"Oh, cut the crap, Carly! We both know if a guy even smiles at you, you get worked up so bad you need dry underwear."

"Sam! That's nasty! I'm not some slut."

"You're right, I'm sorry, Carls. That wasn't nice. But you do get flustered around boys."

"Well, I've never been flustered by Freddie! And I'm dead serious. He felt like a total stub rag for the whole kiss thing and then when you disappeared, he dang near went off the deep end. He called me, texted and emailed, like four or five times a day to ask if I heard from you or knew anything about where you were."

"He was really worried about me?" Sam began to understand that maybe, just maybe, Freddie actually had deep feelings for her.

"Uh, yeah! Worried sick as a matter of fact. He missed I don't know how many days of school looking for you. He left you voice mails and texts but you never called back or anything. He even went to your house to ask your mom what happened to you."

"Whoa. He talked to Pam? She never said anything."

"Well, it's not like you and your mom talk. The poor guy thought you got abducted or arrested or something. You could have at least sent him a text to let him know you were still alive. And that day you actually called him about the online reviews or whatever, he was over the moon. He called me at four in the morning to tell me he heard from you."

Sam felt bad. She never tried to look at this from Freddie's perspective. Maybe he was telling her the truth after all. Was it possible he was truly over his eternal crush on Carly?

Carly broke her train of thought. "I think you guys need to talk, you two need to mend your friendship and then get back on track. If there's a chance in you-know-where for Seddie, you need to be open with each other."

"Carly! Stop saying that word!"

The girls wrapped up their call and Sam again found it difficult to get any sleep that night. Not because she was upset with Freddie. This time she was upset with herself. How could she be so selfish to not even be willing to hear him out.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The day after her conversation with Sam, Carly decided it was time to call Freddie.

"Hey, Carls." He answered, surprised to hear from her. The two hadn't spoken as regularly as they did right after she first moved to Italy.

"Hi, Freddie." Carly wasted no time in getting to the point. "I thought I'd better call to see how you're doing. You know, with the Sam thing and all."

Freddie huffed in frustration. The last thing he needed was to have his nose rubbed in this mess. "Geez, does everybody know about this deal? Maybe if everyone would just mind their . . . "

His friend cut him off. "We're worried about you guys, Freddie."

"There's nothing to worry about." He snipped. "Sam shot me down, and I -I, I guess I don't blame her." He didn't want to admit why, but they both knew it. "I'm skipping prom and all I can hope for is to try to make up to her for the way she thinks I treated her."

"OK." She agreed. "That's good, but, wait, you're skipping prom?"

"Sam's more important than any damned old prom. And we both need to convince her that there's nothing between us."

Carly agreed. "Right, because apparently she thinks we've both been hiding some kind of feelings for one another for a long time. Did you know she saw what happened the day I moved. In the studio, I mean."

"Yes and according to Spencer, that's the reason she left Seattle in the first place. So she wouldn't have to see my face, because she couldn't stand to look at the guy who hurt her so bad. So I guess I can't really blame her for not wanting to come back, especially to go out with me. Believe me, I feel like the worlds biggest stub rag for all this."

"I couldn't see Sam all dolled up for prom anyway. Seriously, can you picture her in some fancy, slinky dress?" Carly tried to lighten the mood. "I think the only time I ever saw her dress up was for that pageant the one time, oh and to go out with you to Pini's."

"Man, what a disaster that was." He chuckled. "The parmesan, Gawd, what a night."

"Freddie!" Carly hissed. "That's insensitive."

"Well, not that I'd ever want to change it, but that had to go down in history as the worst date ever. But you know what, with memories like that with Sam, I can't see myself ever settling for anyone else. Sam kept my life interesting, it's why I love her so much. It's why I miss her. She was the storm to my calm, the yin to my yang. Although, if her and I ever were to get together I'll probably need blood pressure medicine by the time I'm thirty."

"True." Carly laughed at his assessment. "So what are you going to do next?"

"I - I don't really know. But I do know I need to call her. Have you guys talked lately?"

"Yes. And you're right, you need to call her. But for goodness sake, don't go acting all romantic and try asking her out or anything. She needs you to prove yourself and you can't be all pushy and trying to pretend everything's the same as it was two years ago. Because it's not. You guys need to start over."

"So I suppose a surprise visit to L.A. to sweep her off her feet is out?"

"Um, yeah. Unless you want your arms broken. You know how Sam feels about surprises. But a nice phone call and maybe an email or something would be nice. Or even a care package of Canadian bacon."

* * *

In California, Sam was finally starting to get back to normal. She was no longer depressed from her feelings for a guy she thought was not going to return them, but was simply beating herself up for not believing him in the first place. One thing was certain, they needed to talk and after their last conversation, she knew she needed to make the first move. This was her fault and berating the man she loved was not a nice way to act.

"Cat. I'm going to make a phone call. Can you give me a little space, please?" Sam asked her room mate before shutting the bedroom door.

She sat on her bed, took a deep breath and called Freddie.

"Hello." He answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Frednub. How's it hangin'?" She tried to sound normal, but was doing a poor job.

"S-Sam?" He stumbled, surprised to hear from her. "Hey, what's up?" He tried to deepen his voice and sound manly.

"Eh, just thought I'd call and see how everyone's favorite nub is doing. And check if you were still coming to tour Caltech sometime." Truthfully, she was worried he was going to skip that plan.

"Well, yeah. I was actually going to call you about that. I, uh, I was figuring on heading down on the 24th. But, I, well, I wasn't sure you'd have time to do anything. I was really hoping we could hang out, though." He hoped a face to face meeting would be possible and maybe that would give them an opportunity to begin to rebuild their friendship.

"Hmm, well, I do have a lot going on." She teased. She couldn't help but torment him. "There's a lot of cute guys in Venice."

"It's alright. I understand if you're busy." Freddie sounded like he just learned someone died.

"N - no. That's not it. Um, actually I'm kind of looking forward to having some fun with someone different." She was just glad he even wanted to still do something with her. And she couldn't stand the sad tone in his voice. "I kinda miss doing stuff with you. An -and Carly, too. Of course. I mean, Cat's cool and she's a good kid. A little dippy but she's a good kid. But, I don't know, it's not the same here without, um, you. I mean, you guys. You and Carly around. I even miss my sister sometimes."

Neither made mention of the prom, possibly dating at some point in the future or anything that went beyond simply hanging out when he visited L.A.

As bad as he wanted to, Freddie stayed far away from the subject of their relationship. He took Carly's advice and kept their talk very generic. He had convinced himself that he wasn't going to the dance and that he'd try to suggest a short video chat with Sam and possibly Carly instead that day. Maybe if he had both girls on video, he'd bring up the subject of the supposed Melanie and get to the bottom of things as far as that went, too.

* * *

The next week at school, Freddie and Gibby were eating their lunches together as they normally did. Since iCarly ended, and without the company of Carly and Sam, both boys had become nearly pariahs with their classmates. Since Gibby's girlfriend didn't go to Ridgeway, and none of the other girls would give him the time of day, combined with Freddie's nearly complete lack of female companionship, most of their classmates labeled the two as 'losers' and 'geeks' and just simply ignored their existence.

"So, did you talk to Sam about the dance yet?" The big boy asked Freddie. "Man, this is good beef stroganoff."

"Yeah. Like, weeks ago. She can't make it." With all the feelings surrounding this, Freddie hadn't mentioned it to his buddy. "I guess I'll just skip it, who needs prom?"

"Dude!" Gibby was shocked at Freddie's thought. The two had talked about their senior prom since they were in junior high and how they planned to go all out for the formal dance.

"What's the point of it all. I mean, seriously, in three years who's even gonna remember the prom? Well, other than the guys who brag about how they got lucky on prom night."

"Yeah, but we picked out our tuxes months ago, and we've got money saved up to rent a limo, and there's the whole thing about it being the end of our high school careers. Gheesh, Tasha's been talking about it almost non stop and she doesn't even go to our school."

"At least you've got a girlfriend who wants to go. I have a girl that I want to take who lives a thousand miles away, oh and by the way did I mention, wouldn't go with me even if she lived a block from here."

"What? Sam's wazzed at you? Why? What did you do?" Gibby knew Sam's fuse was short and it took very little to get under her hide, but he was still under the impression she and Freddie were pretty close, possibly even going out in secret. "You must have done something."

"Nothing. Well, I kind of kissed Carly, but it was months ago. The day Carly left in fact. And Sam saw and . . . " Freddie was stopped from saying more.

"Dude!" Gibby nearly choked on his fruit punch, not only could he not believe his friend kissed Carly, but now he suspected why Sam ran off. "That's why she bolted?"

"Apparently." Freddie sighed, and verified. "And don't think I don't feel like a total douche over it all."

"Why the crap did you go and kiss up on Carly when you wanted to date Sam again? You've been talking for over a year about getting back together with her. And I thought you and Carls were just friends. That's what you've told me."

"We are! The thing is, after it happened, it made me and Carly both realize it was wrong and that we'd never be anything more than good friends."

Gibby just shook his head. "But you can't be serious about not going to the dance. It's the only prom we'll ever get, man. And I don't want to be there without my best friend."

"Awh, Gibbs. I don't need the guilt trip. And every girl in our class has a date already."

"Then it sounds like you have two problems. One, you're on Sam's short list. That's something you can work on for yourself, because I don't want her to come back home just to give me a Texas wedgie. But two, and most importantly, you need a date for the prom. That I can help with."

"Nah, I told you, I'm not going."

"Sure you are. I've go the perfect date for you." Gibby smirked.

"Gibby!" Freddie pleaded. "Seriously. No."

"No, listen. Tasha's cousin, Maddy. She's home schooled like Tasha, and she desperately wants to go to prom. No one's asked her, you can take her."

"This sounds like a bad idea. I'm not looking to start anything." Freddie argued. "It'll just make Sam even more upset."

"Maddy's not looking for a boyfriend or anything romantic. She's, like, super religious or something, never even went out on a date. All you have to do is just take her, maybe dance with her once or twice, basically just hang out at a table or whatever and make small talk. Nothing serious, just go and have fun. Her parents are all worried about some guy trying to feel her up or something, and I know you'll be a gentleman."

"I don't know, Gibbs."

"Aw, come on. Please, Freddie. I swear, she's not ugly or anything. In fact, she's kind of cute. Maybe a little chunky, but so am I, and she's got the best eyes. Plus she's really nice. She's quiet and super shy, too. I would have said something sooner but I thought you were taking Sam."

"Can I at least meet her before the dance?" Freddie worried that he was being set up with a girl he couldn't get along with, remembering the magician girl.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Weeks later, the guys were at the mall to make final arrangements for their tuxes. The prom was a little over a week away but Freddie still wasn't sure about the whole situation. They had just parted company with Tasha and Maddy, who were leaving to go do something with their families.

"So what did you think of Maddy. I told you, she's cute." Gibby knew Freddie was still hesitant about the girl.

"Eh, she's not bad." Freddie confessed. "I've gotta admit she's really quiet. And she does have nice eyes."

"Well, once she gets to know you, she'll get wound up, but it takes her a while. Then you won't be able to shut her up. Tasha told me she's really psyched about going to the dance with you. But she's all worried Sam will come back and knock her out or something."

"What?" He queried with a twist of his lip.

"Apparently, Maddy's a big Seddie fan. She even has a shirt. You know from when they were selling the stuff at Web-i-con that time."

"Oh, God!" Freddie shook his head. "Please tell me she's not in on all the details about this whole mess with me and Sam."

"Nah. Hey, speaking of, have you talked to Sam lately?" Gibby asked as the guys were getting into his car.

"Actually, we talked last night. I've been trying to call her more often, and send a text or email every couple of days. You know, just to be a friend, not act like, well, there's any romantic feelings or anything. But there sort of are. And I think there are from her, too."

Gibby dropped Freddie off at Bushwell. Before he even got back home, his phone began to ring.

"You got the Gibster." He answered with his Bluetooth, something he was obsessed with lately, walking around with it in his ear constantly, even though hardly anyone called him.

"Gibbaay!" Sam announced.

"Sam?" He queried. "Haven't heard from you in a while what's up?"

"Hey, how's things back home?" The blonde tried to make small talk. She wasn't positive he knew about the prom situation but she was pretty sure Freddie would have told his best buddy.

 _*Flashback to the previous evening when Sam and Cat were watching TV.*_

"Cat, can I ask you something?" Sam sounded very serious, plopping down with a bottle of soda.

"Sure. You can ask me anything. Except for the recipe to Nona's secret meatballs. You know I can't . . . "

"Um, yeah." Sam wasn't worried about meatballs. "D - do you think I'd seem desperate if I, um, I don't know, thought about going back to Seattle for a couple of days. You know, to, well, kind of surprise Freddie and go to his prom with him?"

"SAM!" Cat shrieked. "That's great news. When do you leave? How long will you be gone? It's going to be so lonely here without you. I suppose I could get Robbie to hang out here with me for a few days."

"Um, eww. Please don't turn our apartment into some love nest for you two. And I didn't say for sure I was going. I'm just thinking about it." Sam said dryly.

"Aw, but Sam, you have to go. When is it again?" Cat was so excited she was bouncing up and down.

"Freddie didn't get a chance to tell me. But I suppose I could look it up on the school's Splashface page or something."

"Here." Cat jammed her pear pad into Sam's face. "See when it is."

"I told you, I haven't completely decided yet, but I do have some money saved up for the flight. And since I'm doing cyber-school it's not like I'm going to get to do anything like this for me. Thing is, I don't want to seem like I'm just going back to see him."

"Even though you are?" Cat smirked.

"Watch it, kid." Sam glared, looking at the screen. "Here it is. Chiz! It's next weekend."

"Well, then you'd better see about a flight."

Without arguing, Sam began searching for a ticket. "I just hope it doesn't cost too much."

"What about a dress? I've got something you could borrow. But I doubt you'd fit. Not that you're fat or anything. You've just got bigger, um, well, you know." Cat touched her own chest.

Sam just rolled her eyes.

 _*End flashback*_

Sam and Gibby made small talk for a few minutes before she cut to the chase. "So, um, did Freddork ever find a date to the prom?"

"Prom?" He sounded confused at the sudden shift in conversation. "Oh, yeah. He's taking Tahsa's cousin, Maddy."

Sam's heart sank. Maybe her turning him down drove him into the arms of another girl. "R-reallly?" She squeaked. "I don't know her. Does she go to Ridgeway?"

"Nah. She's home schooled and her parents keep her kind of sheltered. Poor girl's never had a boyfriend or even went on a date before. But Freddie's agreed to take her just so she could go to the dance."

"So he's not, like, interested in her?" Sam was beginning to feel relieved, but tried to hide it. "Is she, um, interested in him."

Gibby made a grunty laugh. He knew there was only one girl his best buddy was interested in. "No. Even if she was, which she's not, he wouldn't start anything. Honestly, though, he just agreed to go as a favor to me and Tasha."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Um, you know what I mean. That's really nice of him. That he's taking her to the dance just so she can go."

Gibby, as thick as he was about a lot of things, knew this was a conversation he needed to steer away from. "Hey, did Freddie tell you he's going to L.A. to tour Caltech her in a couple of weeks?"

"Yep. We're going to try to get together. You know, just as friends. Kinda, just hang out. I'll show him some stuff around here, he can buy me food, it'll be like old times. Well, minus you and Carls."

So, by the time her phone call ended, Sam learned Freddie's date wasn't romantic. She knew when the dance was, she had enough money to buy a ticket, and Cat even had someone lined up to keep her company. There was nothing stopping her, except her stupid pride.

Before she could think any more about it or talk to her room mate, Melanie called.

"Sammy?" Mel inquired. "How are you doing?"

"Eh. Alright, I guess." Sam shrugged, still processing all the information she was just given by Gibby.

"I hear you're going home for a few days." Mel said with excitement.

"Right. I suppose Cat called you. And I haven't decided for sure yet."

"Just a text. She said you were going, when do you leave? Did you talk to Freddie yet? What about your dress?"

"Gawd, Mel." Sam couldn't believe how her sister was acting. "I said I was thinking about it. Why does this have to be such a big production. It's one stupid, nubby dance."

"Because it's a big deal. You're going to senior prom with the first and only guy you've ever loved and if you play your cards right, you're getting back together with him. Oh my gosh, this is so romantic. Oooh, are you writing any of this down in a journal."

"Alright, let me make this clear. I'm 'considering' going back to Seattle for a visit. I'm not going back to look for a boyfriend or try to score with Freddie or anything. You've known me for 18 years, you know I don;t keep a journal. The thing I'm really not so sure about is crashing Ridgeway's prom. Maybe I should just wait until he comes to L.A. to tour Caltech. Freddie already has a date, anyway."

"He what?" Mel gasped, angrily. "I swear, I'm calling that boy! How can he do this to you?"

"Mel, for God's sake!" Sam tried to calm her twin down. "He has a right to take a date to his prom. Besides, I told him I wasn't going with him, he doesn't have to sit around and wait for me. He's going with Gibby's girlfriend's cousin, anyway. It's not like he even likes her or he's dating anyone. He's taking some hapless girl who's parents never let her date to the stupid dance."

"How do you know?"

"Because Giblet told me. I just got off the phone with him."

"Oh." Mel was satisfied and settled down. "Then I guess there's no reason you can't go."

"Yeah, I guess." Sam sighed.

"Good. So did you get a flight yet? You have enough money? I can lend you . . ."

"It's only $300. I'm good. Looks like there's plenty of seats, well as of yesterday. I did some checking online." Sam fell silent for a moment. "Do you really think I should do this?"

"Heck, yeah! Of course I do. Get your butt on a plane and rush in there. You have to. Oh, I can just picture Freddie's face when you show up. This is going to be so awesome."

"But what if it makes him mad, that I just show up out of nowhere. Or what if I just end up looking desperate."

"Sam! If what if's and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas. I talked to Freddie the other week. He's crazy about you and I'm telling you, if you heard the way he poured his heart out and knew half of what he told me about how he feels about you, you'd have damp panties."

"Gross! Mel, that's nasty. You know I hate the word panties. And since when do you talk to Freddie." Sam said with jealousy.

"Oh, um, well the other week when you were all depressed, Cat called me and I talked to him to see what was going on between you two. He told me everything. How he feels, how he regrets the Carly thing, all of it. The whole nine yards."

Sam huffed that yet another person was minding her business.

"Sammy, seriously, this is something you need to do. Look him in the eyes, wrap your arms around him press your lips to his. Oh, gosh, I need to stop, I'm getting all worked up. Man, I'm going to dream about all this."

"Settle down ol' girl." Sam scolded. "And quit having wet dreams about my guy."

"So, now you're claiming him. Dude, you are so into him." Mel smirked.

"Yeah, here's hoping to get him into me. Well, wait, that didn't come out right. You know what I mean."

* * *

The next day, Sam had her flight reserved and was busying herself packing a few things for her trip. "You sure you'll be alright by yourself for a couple of days?" She asked Cat.

"I'll be fine. Jade's staying over tomorrow night and Robbie and I are spending the weekend together. I can't have Jade around because of those three kids coming on Saturday."

"Alright. But no using the oven. And no knives. I don't need you losing a finger or something." Sam warned.

"Jeez, Sam. I'm almost sixteen, I think I can handle cooking for myself for a weekend while my room mate goes off to her ex and soon to be future boyfriend's prom. Oh, and speaking of Jade, I asked her to let you borrow something dressy for the dance. You guys are built kind of the same. She's going to bring a couple of dresses by later."

The doorbell sounded and Cat mimicked it with a "ding-dong".

Sam opened the door to find Jade, holding a had full of hangers with dresses of various shades of dark purple, black and red.

"Hey, Jade. C'mon in." Sam stepped aside and let the goth girl enter.

"Hey, Sam. Cat told me you needed to borrow a dress. I brought a few for you to choose from."

"Oooh, let's see." Cat grabbed the handful of hangers and began to look at the garments.

"Yeah, I really don't have anything fancy. Every time I ever needed to dress up, I always borrowed something from Carly."

By this time, Cat had discarded all but one purple, spaghetti-strap dress. "Here, Sam. This is the only thing that doesn't look slutty or like something you'd wear to a funeral."

"Excuse me." Jade huffed. "Since when do I look slutty?"

"Sorry. Well, Jade you do dress kind of, um, mature sometimes."

"Funny you picked that dress. That's the one I wore to my prom last year. Interestingly enough, it's the only one of 'em where I ever got any action. Despite what Cat thinks, I'm not a slut."

"Um, OK. You did dry clean it afterwards?" Sam asked.

"Don't worry." Jade cracked. "Not like I got anything on it. It was on Beck's floor the whole night."


	7. Chapter 7

**So it's time for the prom. I know most everyone already had theirs, and I tried to plan this story so the prom chapter hit about that season. Sorry, my timing was sucky. Anyway, enjoy the Seddie reunion we've all been craving.**

Chapter 7

The next day, Sam took a taxi to the airport after a teary goodbye from Cat and a nudge-nudge, wink-wink from Jade and well wishes for a fun time with Freddie.

She checked her bag and carried her small backpack through the security and on board the plane, worried that the suitcase containing the borrowed dress would get lost.

Sure enough, after landing in Seattle, Sam waited and waited for her luggage but the purple, be-dazzled case she borrowed from Cat never came off the carousel. It took standing in line for over an hour and several airline clerks helping her to determine the case was put on the wrong plane and was on its way to Hawaii, not Washington.

A taxi ride to her mother's house later, Sam was sitting on her old bed, frustrated at her situation. She didn't want to show up to surprise Freddie at his prom wearing the jeans and black 'Fancy Church Shirt' penny-T she currently had on. Unfortunately, after she moved, her mother had disposed of most of her old clothing, not that she had anything all that dressy to begin with. Opening dresser drawers and her old closet revealed a few clothes, but nothing she would want to wear to a formal dance. With any luck, the airline would find her actual suitcase and return it to her by the time she needed to leave for the dance.

* * *

The evening for their formal dance arrived and the two boys had their tuxedos on and were waiting outside Bushwell for the limo to pick them up and take them to Tasha's where they were to meet up with the girls before going to the school for the prom.

"Quit fussing with your tie. You look perfect." Gibby said to Freddie.

"I'm not worried about the look, this thing fits like a dog collar. I think I'm choking."

"Aw, quit being a baby and suck it up. It's only for a few hours. You'll live." Gibby shook his head.

"I don't know why I let you talk me into this." Freddie moaned under his breath.

After picking up the young ladies and posing for pictures at the request of the girls' parents, the foursome made their way to the school for the dance.

Tasha, of course, was dressed to the nines and looked like she was ready to walk down a runway. Her cousin, while a bit frumpier, still looked very nice and was very nervous about this being her first official date.

"Thanks again for taking me to the dance, Freddie. I've been dreaming about going to prom since I was eleven." Maddy smiled at Freddie as he helped her from the car.

"Sure. Uh, I'm glad, it's my pleasure." He said back nervously. "Thanks for coming with me."

The four entered the school and began to enjoy their evening. Freddie and Maddy found a table along the windows overlooking the tennis courts and talked a little. The poor girl was still very nervous about not only her first true date, but about being around so many people she didn't know.

"So did you, maybe, want to, um, dance?" He asked to be polite.

"Maybe just one." She smiled. "But I'm not much of a dancer."

"That's OK, neither and I." He responded and stood.

"You sure Sam's not going to beat me up for dancing with you?" She questioned.

"Maddy, there's nothing with Sam and I. And besides, it's just a dance and we're not doing anything serious. Come on. I promise there's nothing to worry about. Besides, Sam lives a thousand miles away. And I swear, I am going to tell her everything about tonight. Every last little, innocent detail."

* * *

Without dependable transportation, Sam was at the mercy of taxis and public transportation to get around. She was trying to keep her presence a surprise to Freddie, so she stayed away from Bushwell, Spencer and the Groovy Smoothie. That and she was waiting at her mother's house, desperately hoping the airline would locate her missing bag, which contained her dress, and deliver it there as they said they would.

Sam had picked out the dressiest clothing she could find at Pam's, but what she located definitely wasn't her style. The clothes were from Melanie's closet. A knee length, denim skirt and pale yellow blouse was certainly not prom wear. At least not compared to the dress she had borrowed from Jade. She did manage to find a nice suede vest to go over the top and a pair of shoes from her mother's room, which matched the outfit pretty well and weren't too wild.

Sam stood in front of the full length mirror on the back of her sister's bedroom door and sighed, examining herself. She looked like she was ready to go square dancing, not to a high school prom. If only they'd find her suitcase, she could still wear what she was planning on. She looked at the time, if she didn't soon leave, she'd miss the dance entirely.

A short bus ride later, Sam was on the sidewalk in front of Ridgeway high school. As she walked toward the door, she saw a familiar figure. Principal Franklin was in the lobby of the building talking on his phone, his back to the door. Everyone was already in the gym, enjoying themselves so his only duty was to guard the building against prom crashers.

She pulled on the handle, stepped inside and waited patiently for his attention. He ended his call and turned around to see the blonde.

"Sam?" He questioned. "Sam Puckett? Is that you?"

"Hey, Ted." She smiled. "It's me."

"What are you doing here? Last I heard anything about you, the online school contacted us for your transcripts. The address they gave us for you was in Los Angeles I believe."

"Yep, I've been a California girl alright. I - Um, well, I sort of thought I'd stop by to see how the whole prom thing's going."

"It's so good to see you, Sam." He tried to shake her hand, but for some reason she uncharacteristically hugged the middle aged man, who seemed to know her true intentions. "I'm guessing you're here to have a dance with Mr. Benson. He's inside, been here for about an hour."

"I guess so." Sam shrugged. "I know he already has a date, but I kind of wanted to surprise him. I guess I need to buy a ticket." She handed him some cash.

"Well, you technically are still a Ridgeway student, even though you do your courses online, you do have a right to be here. And your money's no good, Sam." He handed her a ticket from the stack. "Welcome back."

"Thanks." She said as she walked toward the gym, which was decorated for the dance.

Sam walked through the door at glanced around the room, hoping to not be noticed. She saw familiar faces. There was Wendy, dancing with some dude she never saw before who definitely looked too old for high school. Pete and the girl who was head cheerleader when Sam still went to school here were standing along the wall talking, and she spotted Gibby and Tasha by the buffet table.

Fortunately for her, no one took notice to her yet. On the opposite side of the room, she saw the guy she was looking for, sitting at a round table, near a back corner with a girl who looked very out of place.

Slowly, she made her way through the other students. A few began to recognize her and several slunk out of her way. After all, Sam Puckett was no one to be reckoned with. A few of the snobby girls sneered at her appearance, a couple even mumbling about how she was probably there to make trouble.

She approached Freddie from behind, as he and Maddy were finally getting comfortable with each other. The girl, as Gibby had warned, was talking non-stop about her family, including the many foster children her parents had taken in over the years. She went on and on about the missionary trip she, her mother and her older sister made the previous summer and what her dad did for work.

Suddenly, Maddy's constant monologue came to a halt when she spotted Sam, not ten feet behind her date, approaching their table. The poor girl's eyes grew wide as her worst fear materialized before her. Sam Puckett had returned and she now feared the blonde was going to thrash her for going to the prom with Freddie.

"Madds, what's wrong?" He worried, seeing the sheer panic in her eyes. "You look like you've seen the devil himself."

"Uh, um, uh, S - S - S, Oh, I think . . . Gosh, I need to go." She stood, desperately searching for a way out of the room that didn't lead her past the girl who was only a few feet from Freddie now. Maddy's green eyes never left Sam's form.

"Are you OK? Maybe we should go outside for some fresh air." Freddie stood, to accompany his date out of the room. He instinctively glanced toward where she was looking, trying to figure out what kind of possession had overtaken her. "Sam?"

Sam was now inches away. "Hey, Fredwad." She said with a smirk. "Hope you're not leaving on my account." She said to Maddy.

"Oh, uh, well, yeah, I, um, need to. Oh, geez, I think I'm gonna . . . , holy chiz doodles, I've gotta pee." Maddy stuttered, never breaking eye contact.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" Freddie ignored his date and looked Sam up and down, trying to process her presence and why she was dressed like she was. For whatever reason he liked it. "I've missed you." He pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, I missed you too, nub." She said, hugging back.

Poor Maddy looked as though she was going to pass out. Cat surely would have by this point.

"Guess, I should introduce myself. I'm Sam." She extended a hand to Maddy after letting go of Freddie. "What's wrong with this chick? She have too much caffeine or something?" She whispered to Freddie.

"I think she needs to find the restroom. Could you maybe show her to the girls' room?" He asked. Sam shrugged.

"No!" Maddy shook her head, afraid of being alone with Sam. "I, I, think I saw it on the way in. Seriously, I'm fine. I'll find it myself."

"Relax, dude. I'm not gonna bite." Sam smirked. "Unless asked to." She nudged Freddie with her elbow. "Right, Fredbag. Come on, let's all go."

As the three walked toward the door, Maddy still felt like she was being led to her death. Even though she didn't go to their school, she knew Sam's reputation and was worried she was about to feel her wrath, despite the fact that Sam was being for friendly than she imagined the girl normally was.

"I'll meet you girls right here." Freddie said, pointing to the water fountain and going into the men's room as the young ladies walked into their restroom. Maddy quickly secured herself in a stall.

The two did their thing and were silent until they were both standing in front of the sinks, washing their hands and checking makeup. "Sam, I just want you to know, I'm not, what I mean is, I don't, um, I don't have any romantic feelings for Freddie. We're just friends. Oh, man. I don't even know if we're friends. I mean, uh, I don't know anything. Freddie's nice." She was still unsure about where she stood with Sam.

"Yeah, I know." Sam replied. "For what it's worth, I wouldn't blame you if you did like him. But I'm really glad you don't."

"Huh?"

"Freddie's a good guy. Sure, I might harass him and all, but he's someone special and I really wish me and him could have another chance. Someday. And you seem pretty decent. Even if you're a little tweak-y. Just how much coffee do you drink by the way."

Maddy was still nervous but began to feel some small relief as Sam continued. "So, I understand this is your first real date."

"Yeah. Freddie's really sweet. I mean, well not sweet like that, I don't find him sweet at all. I just mean it's really nice of him to take me to his prom. I don't go to school, I mean, I'm home schooled. So this was the only way I get to go to a prom."

Sam just nodded. She had already been told all this by Gibby. "Well, you think we should get back out there? Frednub's probably all worried one of us fell in or something."

"Hey, Sam. You think we could all be friends?" Maddy asked. "I really don't have a lot of friends outside of my church. And I've always thought you were really cool. You know, from what I saw on the web show. And your singing voice is so awesome."

"Sure, kid." Sam replied. "And thanks. Come on. Hope you don't mind, but I'd kinda like to dance with your date."

"Of course not. You guys are meant to be. Seddie all the way."

Sam just rolled her eyes as the girls re-joined Freddie in the hallway.


	8. Chapter 8

**So now that our lovers have been reunited, this is going to wrap up the story. we're going to also do a couple of flash forwards to Freddie's visit to L.A. and the beginning of his college career.**

Chapter 8

Two hours later, the dance was nearly over, Sam and Freddie had danced together a few times and the three, now joined by Gibby and Tasha were sitting around their table.

"I thought there'd be more food here." Sam griped. "That buffet looked like a hurricane ran through it an hour ago."

"I've got an idea. Let's call Groovy Smoothie and see if T-Bo will stay open a little late tonight. We can all head over there after the prom. We have the limo until midnight." Gibby suggested, in a rare brush of wisdom.

"Oh, um, I can't." Maddy shook her head. "My curfew is 10:30. I have to get back as soon as the dance is over. But that's OK, you guys go ahead, I can just get a taxi back to my place."

"I'll call Aunt Sophie. I'm sure she can make an exception to your curfew for the night." Tasha offered.

"No, Tash, that's OK." Her cousin argued. "Besides, this will give Sam and Freddie some time to themselves. Hey, do you guys mind if I post a couple of these pictures?" She had been snapping shots of the Seddie reunion all evening. "You may not know it, but I'm a huge Seddie fan."

Freddie just looked at Sam as she rolled her eyes and quipped "Really, never would have guessed." under her breath. He knew how she felt about all the fan-girling, and about having her picture posted all over the internet.

"A couple's alright. I guess." Sam conceded and looked worried about this getting out of control fast. "Just, like, three at the most. But no hashtagging Seddie or anything, alright?"

Maddy made a 'eep' sound in excitement and set about to playing with her phone while Tasha made a quick call to Maddy's parents.

"You sure it was a good idea to talk your aunt into loosening up on her curfew?" Gibby asked Tahsa after she got off the phone. "I can see Sam getting extremely annoyed with her, real soon."

"I'll talk to her, get her take it down a notch." Tasha sighed before leading Maddy away to have a private conversation.

"So - you guys ready to head out?" Freddie asked. "I just talked to T-Bo, he said he'll stay open for an extra hour if we buy the last of his coconuts on a stick."

"How do you even ram a stick through a coconut?" Sam asked as Gibby laughed at the thought.

"Come on, you two. I just texted the limo driver. He'll be in front of the school in three minutes." Gibby called out to his girlfriend and her cousin, who were walking back their way.

A little while later, the five were hanging out at the smoothie shop where they had been followed by several of their classmates. T-Bo was ecstatic to have so much late night business and began trying to find other things to sell on a stick. Sam had ordered one of everything deep fried and was talking to Maddy while the two of them and Freddie sat at a table.

"So Freddie tells me he's touring CalTech later this month." Maddy said. "I'm guessing you guys will meeting up while he's in L.A."

"Yeah, we wanted to hang out a little bit. And he seriously needs to meet my room mate. The girl's a real trip. But her boyfriend, man what a dork."

"I've been thinking, why don't you just stay here in Seattle for a week or so and we can fly down together?" Freddie suggested.

"I'd love to, Fredduchini, but I can't be away that long. You'll know what I mean after you meet Cat. Seriously, if I was away more than a couple of days, she'd probably lock herself in the bathroom or worse, out of it." Sam snickered. "And then there's the babysitting business. She can't handle it all herself. Especially if there's any bigger kids. She has trouble controlling them once they're like six or so."

"You guys! There's this new pine scented liquid soap in the men's room. It's terrific." Gibby ran up to them.

"I'll be sure to check that out." Maddy replied. "Oh, wait. I can't go in the men's room. Darn!"

"Your loss. Pays to be a guy." Gibby ran off toward his girlfriend. "Hey, Tasha. Smell my hands."

"Seriously, what does your cousin see in him?" Sam shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, he's a nice guy but he's so, um, what's the word?"

Maddy just snickered "Odd? I guess that's a nice way of putting it."

"Unique." Freddie tried to be kind. "That's how I always describe him. Hey, Maddy, did he ever show you his replica head?"

Maddy just sighed and shook her head. "I don't even want to know."

"And you've been hanging out with him?" Sam lowered her forehead to the table. "Freddie, Freddie, Freddie."

"Hey, he's my best bud and everyone else left." He defended. "It's been lonely without you and Carls."

"On another note, here comes our food!" Maddy announced, changing the subject. "Hot wings!"

"I like this gal." Sam laughed. "How do you feel about ribs, Madds?"

"Nature's perfect food. Sweet, tangy, meaty, what more could you want?" Maddy replied. She was just as big a foodie as Sam.

"Just fat cakes to go with 'em." Sam said with a grin. "And maybe a nice big bowl of chili to wash it all down."

"You have got to try my dad's chili." Maddy gasped. "It's so good, it could bring about world peace."

"Next time I'm in town, you're on!"

* * *

A week and a half later, Freddie was wrapped in Sam's embrace after walking off his flight in California. The blonde was slightly emotional at seeing him, and trying to hide it. She was all but beside herself knowing he would be staying with her for the week long duration of his visit.

"I missed you too, Sam. But it's only been a little over a week." He grinned as she pulled back and stretched up to give him a quick kiss. "Seriously, that's all I get?" He smirked. "I was kind of hoping for a longer kiss."

"More kissing later, when we get back to my place. You know how I feel about PDA." She replied. "Let's get your bag and head back. Cat's making her special recipe meatballs for dinner, we can't be late."

"From what you've been telling me, they're the best meatballs on the planet, so yeah, I don't want to miss them."

"I hope you packed light. There's only so much room on my bike." She told him while they were walking toward the luggage claim, hand in hand.

"Y - your bike?" He questioned. "You still ride a motorcycle? I don't know . . . "

"Yeah. Well, I can't afford a car, Freddork. It's OK, the bike can handle us both. And you get to hold onto mama real nice and tight like on the freeway." She pulled his arms around her from behind and snuggled back into him. "I have an extra helmet for Cat. It's purple with sparkles, but you'll live."

"Well, I do like the sounds of that. Not the sparkly helmet, the other part " He replied and kissed the side of her neck slyly.

"Down, boy!" She hissed. "We're not even officially back together yet. Mama ain't that easy."

"I was thinking we might want to talk about that." He smirked and snuck in another kiss. "Hey, I think that's my bag."

After perching all his things on the motorcycle, and him holding her good and tight, the couple made their way back to Venice. They walked through the door to find Cat in the kitchen, finishing up dinner.

"Cat! Get your butt over here and meet Freddie." Sam called to her friend as Freddie deposited his bags next to the door.

The younger gal ran toward the two and threw her arms around Sam.

"Alright, kiddo. Settle down. Enough!" Sam pried the red head off her frame. "Gheesh, you'd swear I was gone for another weekend, not just two hours."

"You must be Freddie. Nice to meet you." Cat now accosted him, nearly pulling him over, stretching up to throw her arms around his neck. "Sam has told me all about you. Dang, Puckell, he _is_ cute."

"Um, yeah. Nice to meet you, too. Uh, Sam. A little help, here." Freddie tried to push the girl off him. "And who's Puckell?"

"She thinks that's my name." Sam sighed and pulled the girl off her man before steering her back toward the kitchen. "So where's Robbie? I thought he was coming for dinner, too. Not that I was dying to witness him eating or anything."

"He went to the store for some more peanut butter. He'll be back soon. You can't have meatballs without a peanut butter sandwich."

Freddie and Sam just looked at each other strangely.

"Hey, wanna see your room?" Sam shoved him backward onto the couch. "Welcome to it."

"The couch?" Freddie questioned quietly. "I have to sleep on your couch? I thought you had a guest room?"

"Nah, not so much. But it's a nice couch." Sam replied. "It folds out. Big enough for two, actually, if you get my drift."

"Ah! I understand completely."

"Hey! No befouling the couch." Cat snipped from the kitchen.

"Would you rather we made out in the bedroom in front of all your stuffed animals?" Sam asked.

"On second thought, go ahead on the couch. You two have a lot of catching up to do." Cat replied.

* * *

After his week long stay in Los Angeles in the spring, and getting completely reacquainted with Sam, Freddie committed to a school in California.

One high school graduation and dozens of hours spent on calls and video chat with Sam, he was anxious to leave for college a little early, despite his mother's objections.

"I still don't understand why you are leaving so early, Freddiekins? Your classes don't start for over a month. Wouldn't you rather stay here at home so I can take care of you?" Marissa Benson begged as she drove Freddie to the airport.

"Mom, I swear it's going to be fine. I'm going to be staying with Sam and Cat for a couple of weeks. And they have a nice big apartment." He conveniently left out the part that they didn't have a spare bedroom.

"Oh, that Samantha! I do wish you'd forget about that girl and find a nice, wholesome girl here in Seattle. I know the only reason you chose that silly school in California is because of her. University of Washington was good enough for your father, it should be good enough for you."

"Mom. Cal-Tech is one of the best schools in the country and U-Dub barely has a tech program. And Sam is my girlfriendnow. I wish you could just understand how much this means to me." He sighed. "And I want to get to L.A. a little early so I can try to find some kind of part time job. Well, and I really do miss Sam. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Marissa just huffed under her breath. There was obviously no dissuading him from the blonde who she saw as a demonic beast. At least he wasn't still chasing after that brown haired Shay girl any more.

"Most of my things should already be in L.A., Sam told me last night her living room is pretty piled up with my stuff that I've been shipping down."

"Did she check to make sure those two cases of anti-bacterial underpants arrived? Oh, and the tick lotion, too. I'm going to send you some more as soon as I get home from work tomorrow."

"Yes, mom. Everything made it. The underwear, the tick lotion, the thirty pound first aid kit, it's all there. Everything except my actual clothes is there waiting for me." He stated, knowing half of this junk was going to end up in the donation bin behind some church somewhere.

* * *

Later that day, Freddie was settling into Sam's place and was sitting on the couch cuddled up with Sam watching TV. "So, what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" He asked.

"Well, Cat's got plans to go to some amusement park with a bunch of her friends from school and we don't have any kids to sit, I was thinking about a couple of those old cheesy horror movies we both love so much, a ton of microwave popcorn and a nice big bucket of ribs. Oh, an - and, hanging out with you right here on the couch."

"Sounds like a perfect date." He smiled and leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

 **Alright, that's it. Thanks for reading and following and for all your comments and favorites on this and any of my other stories.**

 **I have another one almost ready to start (might be a couple of weeks) that was sort of a request. Well, more of an idea and inspiration given to me by a faithful reader and follower.**


End file.
